


The Story of Us

by tinnie



Category: Riverdale (TV 2017)
Genre: Domestic Fluff, Drabble, Established Relationship, F/M, Fluff, dad jughead, married bughead, mom betty
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-07-19
Updated: 2020-10-25
Packaged: 2021-03-05 00:33:53
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 4
Words: 3,280
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/25385356
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/tinnie/pseuds/tinnie
Summary: A collection of Bughead-centric drabbles, short one shots and random scenes. Mostly fluffy, often including Bughead as parents.
Relationships: Betty Cooper/Jughead Jones
Comments: 59
Kudos: 77





	1. Halloween

**Author's Note:**

> I've been contemplating making a drabble/short one shots collection for a while not only to compile the few I've already written, but also to encourage myself to write down the little random ideas floating in my head that can't find their way into a longer fic. So here it is. The first two stories in this collection I'd already posted on my tumblr in the past, the rest is to come as I finish them.  
> Most likely pure fluff with a lot of Bughead children. Consider yourself warned.

When Betty first pointed out the costume to him at the store, he couldn’t be more vehement.

“No, no way! Our daughter is too cute to be dressed as a vegetable,” he protested. 

But given that the supermarket’s selection of costumes for ten month old babies was limited to pumpkins, ghosts and carrots (seriously, what kind of costume is a carrot?) his wife put the orange monstrosity in their shopping cart with a triumphant smile. She knew she could persuade him eventually and who was he to lie to himself?

In the end the pumpkin costume got the little girl a lot of squeals from their neighbors and even more candy in the bucket that Jughead happily carried around.

“They do realize that babies can’t eat any of this, right?” he asked as another door closed behind them, the dotting dad in him starting to worry about people’s knowledge of babies and nutrition.

“I’m sure they do.” Betty reassured him with a gentle shoulder squeeze and he tried to push the worries down with a piece of candy from the bucket. The more he eats, the less is left for kids that shouldn’t have it.

By the time Juliet was back in her crib the sun had barely set, leaving Betty and Jughead to do what they were looking forward to the most. Tangled up on the couch, their favorite scary movies queued up on TV and a bowl of candy settled between them, they whispered running commentary to each other, giggling and kissing like the teenagers they never got to be.

A few hours later when Juliet woke up crying and Jughead had to scold Hot Dog for chewing up the plastic Jack O Lantern they were forced to revert back to adults, the silly smiles and stomachs full of candy still remaining. At fifteen, twenty-five or fifty, they would always manage to make Halloween just right.


	2. Baby food

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> As promised, here goes another little story I previously shared on tumblr. Hope you enjoy :)

Anyone who has ever met Jughead Jones for longer than ten minutes knows about his voracious appetite and endless love for food. It’s no surprise then, that when his firstborn daughter finally gets old enough to try anything more than milk, Jughead’s excitement is through the roof.

Finding out what food makes her squeal in delight and what makes her scrunch up her adorable face in disgust is more thrilling than he could ever imagine. While he’s not particularly fond of anything overcooked and pureed (the real excitement of his daughter being able to eat proper food is still to come), it’s still fun to find out how their tastes match up.

“We have a really special one today, Elliebug,” Jughead says as he opens the tiny jar of baby food. Usually, Betty insists on homemade food for their daughter. It’s easy enough with the fancy baby food maker that Veronica had gifted them and probably healthier than anything they sell at the store. But when Jughead saw a jar that said vegetables, chicken and rice even Betty couldn’t object. The smiling baby on the cover was doing a good job of selling it.

“You ready to get a taste of something that resembles real food?” he asks and clearly sensing his excitement, Ellie waves her hands around with a grin. Well, real food might be an exaggeration since it’s no less mushy or gross smelling than the usual apple puree that they feed her. But chicken and rice can never taste bad, right?

Making sure her dinosaur print bib is in place, Jughead scoops up some of the strange-looking puree on a spoon and with a well-practiced train sound slides it in Ellie’s mouth.

His confidence about not letting any of the food spill down her chin is squashed a second later when she promptly spits it out, breaking out into a loud wail.

“Oh, no, don’t you like it, sweetie?” Jughead asks as if it couldn’t be more obvious, not ready to accept that what he hoped to be his daughter’s new favorite food was not received well at all. “Look, daddy will try some of it as well,” he says, trying to put as much of the puree as possible on the tiny plastic spoon and bringing it to his mouth with an encouraging smile while Ellie watches him with teary eyes, unable to warn her father of the mistake he’s about to make.

The moment the food hits his tongue his face twists up in the same way Ellie’s did and he only takes a second to contemplate whether he’s too old to spit it out like she did before he rushes over to the sink. “Oh, fuck!” he curses, running his tongue under the tap in an attempt to wash off the horrible taste. “How could this happen?”

“What’s going on?” Betty storms out of the office a moment later with a distraught look on her face, finding her husband cradling their baby daughter in his arms and muttering apologies against her forehead

“I’m so sorry, sweetheart. Daddy shouldn’t have let you eat it without trying it first,” he whispers, ridden with guilt that he caused one of his daughter’s first experiences with food to be something so horrible. When he hears Betty’s voice, he looks up with wide eyes, knowing he can’t hide his horrible actions from her.

“Oh, Betts, that baby food we bought was a mistake. I can’t believe I fed our little bug something so disgusting. I’m a terrible father.”

“Juggie.” Betty smiles at him fondly, well accustomed to his flair for dramatics. Especially when it comes to food. Or their daughter. “Babies are way more sensitive to tastes and you find everything with mostly vegetables offensive. I’m sure it can’t be that bad.”

He has no chance to warn her before she grabs the jar and takes a spoonful of the baby food into her mouth without any hesitation. Her lips twist in a grimace, but she forces the food down her throat before an unconvincing smile spreads on her lips.

“It’s… edible,” Betty says and Jughead can barely hold in his laugh.

“It’s disgusting. Admit it.”

“Okay, yes, you’re right. It’s the worst thing I’ve ever tasted.” She sighs before taking the baby from his arms and pressing a kiss to her forehead. “I’m so sorry Elliebug. We will never do this to you again. I promise.”

“If we do, we’ll have to eat a whole jar of this as punishment,” Jughead says and Betty shakes her head with laugh.

“I’m not going to promise that.”


	3. No pants!

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Three stories in three days? Who is this? Definitely don't get used to it though. While this is the first time I'm posting this little story, it has been sitting in my computer 99% finished for the longest time. Initially I wanted to make it longer, but now I've decided against it. Hope you enjoy this tiny glimpse of cuteness.

“C’mon, baby. Let me put these on.”

“No!” Oliver shakes his head, his dark curls flying around his chubby face. “No pants!” he exclaims, running away before she has a chance to stop him.

Betty runs a hand over her face and lets out an exhausted yet amused sigh. She never would’ve thought that out of all the challenges of parenthood, making a toddler wear pants would be one of the hardest ones. At least so far. But life has a way of surprising you.

“I got them,” Jughead says triumphantly as he enters the living room, holding a squirming toddler in each arm. “They have short legs but they run fast.”

“Only when you want them to put clothes on.” Betty chuckles as Jughead hands Samuel to her as if hoping that exchanging the kids will make them more successful at getting them dressed.

“C’mere, Sammy. Show your brother there is nothing wrong with wearing pants,” Betty says softly. The twelve-minute younger twin is usually less resistant to her demands, though he does like to imitate his brother.

“Going out?” the boy asks, his blue eyes growing wide with excitement. For some reason, the kids have no issues with wearing clothes outside, but the minute they come back, they're pulling them off like they're on fire.

“No, baby. We just got home. These are the clothes we wear inside,” she explains to him.

He seems to contemplate his mother’s words for a moment before shaking his head. “No!” he says, crossing his arms across his chest in a dramatic fashion, making Jughead burst out in laughter. Betty scowls at him, giving him a “don't encourage them” look but can’t help a smile of her own.

“Ollie, you have to do what mommy says.” Jughead turns to the toddler by his side. The competitive part of him wants to achieve what his wife didn’t, but he knows that’s everything but easy. Their kids got a lot of stubbornness from both of their parents and as entertaining as it sometimes is, he wishes this trait took a little longer to manifest. “Do you know why?”

Oliver shakes his head, waiting for his dad to explain.

“You know what we always say? Mommy knows...”

“Mommy knows best,” Oliver finishes for him, grinning proudly as he remembers the sentence Jughead has been drilling into his head pretty much since birth. After all, it's something Jughead himself lives by.

“Yes.” Jughead smiles at him. “Mommy knows best. Do you know what that means?”

The little boy bites his lip, thinking for a second before exclaiming: “No pants!”

“No pants!” Sam repeats after his older brother and then they’re both running away again.

Betty throws her head back with a laugh, unsure whether it’s the ridiculousness of the situation or whether she’s truly losing it. “I give up. If they want to run around in just their underwear, I guess I’ll just let them.”

“They may have a point,” Jughead says, moving to sit next to Betty. “Sometimes I also hate having to put pants on.”

“So you suggest we say no to pants as well?” Betty cocks an eyebrow at her husband.

“Well if it was up to me, you’d never be wearing any. Or any shirts for that matter.” He grins at her and leans over to kiss her, enjoying the little moment of privacy before the twins inevitably come barging back into the living room.

“Not wearing pants is what got us into this situation.” Betty giggles between the kisses.

“And I wouldn't have it any other way.”


	4. It takes a village

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hey guys, it's been a little while since the last drabble/one shot/whatever these are as my attention was pulled elsewhere but a couple of days ago I saw a prompt on tumblr by tikigoddess that I simply couldn't resist. Hope you enjoy this little story.
> 
> Also, I was too eager to post this, so at least for now I claim all the mistakes as mine.

“Are you sure you guys are gonna be fine on your own? I can just tell Veronica to reschedule. Or maybe we can stay in. I’m sure she could bring the whole spa over here if she wanted.”

“Betts,” Jughead says, placing a hand on her shoulder to stop her nervous rambling, the other hand cradling their baby daughter against his chest. “We’ll be just fine. Mia will probably sleep most of the time you’re away anyway while I’ll try to get some writing done. No need to worry about us.”

It’s been only six weeks since Mia Isabella Jones has entered their lives, causing everything they do to stop and focus on her. And while Jughead is more than willing to do that, assuming the role of a full time dad with pride, he’s also still a husband, one of his duties being that he needs to force his wife to take time for herself and relax. 

“But what if...” Betty tries to protest but Jughead stops her.

“No what ifs. You’re only going to Greendale. If something were to happen, which it won’t, Veronica’s driver will have you back in no time.”

With a resigned sigh Betty nods and Jughead knows just how she feels. Every moment spent away from their daughter feels like forever. And for someone as young as her, it probably is. Even though she spends most of her day sleeping, completely unaware of her parents’ presence. 

“I’ll miss this sweet face,” Betty says, her lips down-turned as she strokes Mia’s cheek, the little girl rewarding her with a toothless smile.

“I’ll miss yours too.” Jughead grins, making her chuckle. “But it’s only a few hours and you deserve time for yourself.”

Just then a car honks outside of their house, signaling Veronica’s arrival. 

With dozen kisses to Mia’s face and a few spare for him, Betty is out of the door, finally leaving the father-daughter duo alone. 

“It’s just you and me kiddo,” Jughead whispers and for a moment he worries Mia will feel the lack of her mother’s presence and break into tears. He sure would in her place. But instead she just lets out a quiet gurgle and snuggles into his chest.

“I know, I’ll miss mommy too,” he says, pressing a kiss to the top of her head. Not sure if more for her comfort or his. “But I promise we’ll have fun.”

Jughead may have exaggerated the term fun when twenty minutes later Mia is sleeping soundly in her crib while he stares at the blank screen of his computer, willing the words to come to him. It’s difficult to get into the zone though, as a thought in the back of his mind keeps nagging him, telling him he’s forgetting something important. He’s ran through the mental checklist of baby care twice already, making sure his daughter was safe and satisfied but the feeling doesn’t go away.

It’s only when his phone rings and a frustrated _“Jones, where are you? We’ve been waiting for twenty minutes.”_ comes from the other end that he realizes what he’s been forgetting this whole time. The monthly Serpents’ meeting. 

While the previous month, due to Mia being barely two weeks old, Toni, as his second in command, lead the meeting, this month Jughead promised to check back in himself. A thought that quickly slipped his mind in the hustle and bustle of his everyday life.

What was once a five minute bike drive now turned into half an hour as Jughead triple checked the contents of the diaper bag before loading Mia into the car seat and setting off towards the White Wyrm. By the time he arrives, the Serpents are already waiting, faces predictably twisted with annoyance that quickly dissipates and turns into smiles once they notice the sleeping baby strapped to his chest. His daughter does tend to have that sort of effect on people.

“Sorry for the delay, guys,” Jughead says as they all settle into their chairs, “but as you can see, I have a very cute excuse.”

It’s barely ten minutes later when he’s running his hand through his hair in frustration. He’s forgotten how these meetings can sometimes go, especially with new members of the gang and without Betty by his side to shut them up with a single look before they have a chance to say something stupid.

“It’s just weed. What’s the big deal?” the newest member of the gang, a self-nicknamed guy called Sniper, asks, crossing his arms. He looks like a toddler about to throw a tantrum and Jughead hoped he was at least two years away from having to deal with that. 

“The Serpents don’t deal drugs. It’s one of the main rules and you know that,” Jughead says, trying to keep his tone firm and serious. He knows that the adorable baby strapped to his chest may be making it a bit more difficult to take him seriously but he tries anyway.

Sniper rolls his eyes with an exaggerated huff, muttering something about the gang being boring. Then he pulls out a pack of cigarettes but Toni slaps the lighter out of his hand before he can light one.

“Are you crazy? There is a baby here,” she says, her eyes flaming with anger. 

“Yeah, and Fangs has asthma. The Wyrm is a strict no smoking zone,” Sweet Pea growls, standing up to tower over the new guy for emphasis.

Sniper takes a quick look around him, as if wondering whether anyone will back him up, but the other Serpents just shake their heads and send him disapproving looks. “What kind of stupid gang is this?” he grumbles, kicking a chair angrily.

The sudden noise startles Mia from her slumber, a loud wail piercing through the air in an instant. 

“See? Now you made the baby cry. Get out of here!” Sweet Pea snarls, pushing him towards the exit.

Jughead’s hand immediately comes up to Mia’s back, trying to soothe her with gentle strokes. “It’s okay, sweetie,” he talks to her in the softest voice possible, “sorry that poopy head woke you up.” He hears a couple of people snicker at his choice of words but ignores them, bouncing lightly on his feet, hoping to quickly put her back to sleep. The first three weeks of her life, bouncing on a fitness ball was the only sure-fire way to get her to sleep but Betty and Jughead have since moved on from bringing the ball with them everywhere so this is the most he can do now.

The little girl isn’t having it though, her tiny face scrunching up and her cries growing louder. Some of the Serpents, mostly the ones who don’t have kids on their own, start looking uncomfortable, clearly not sure how to deal with the situation. A crying baby is not a common problem during gang meetings.

“Let me hold her. Maybe she’s just sick of all the testosterone in the air,” Toni says and after a moment of hesitation Jughead carefully extracts Mia from the baby carrier.

“Be careful,” he tells her and she shoots him a look that says: “ _I know what I’m doing better than you do.”_. He supposes she’s right. After all, she has her own tiny person at home and therefore a lot more experience than he does. Still, it doesn’t stop him from worrying whenever he hands his daughter to someone else.

Toni’s presence doesn’t seem to help though, as Mia continues to prove to everyone how strong her lungs are.

“Let me try,” an older Serpent comes up to Toni, reaching his hands out for the baby. “My girls always liked to be rocked in a specific way.”

Jughead runs his hand through his hair, wondering how the direction of the meeting changed so quickly. _Ah, right, Sniper was being an idiot._

Betty often teases him about how the Serpents have hardly resembled a gang in the past half a decade. He usually tries to oppose her, saying that a gang isn’t defined by doing criminal activities or riding motorcycles (many of the Serpents have exchanged theirs for family cars). But looking at them now, all he sees is a group of dorks in leather jackets, passing along a crying baby in a poor attempt to get her to stop crying.

“Your ugly face is only making her cry more.” He hears Sweet Pea say to a Serpent called Hisser who is trying to pull funny faces at Mia, before taking the baby from him. “Babies like being sung to,” he says, taking a deep breath before a slightly husky rendition of Twinkle Twinkle Little Star reverberates through the bar. 

“You’re singing it wrong,” Fangs interrupts him, starting the song again and several other Serpents start humming alongside him.

To everyone’s surprise, by the time they finish the song for the second time, the crying stops, Mia’s bright green eyes half closed and heavy with sleep.

“We did it, boss!” Fangs whisper yells in excitement as Sweet Pea continues to rock the baby in his arms until her eyes close completely.

As Jughead watches them, he realizes he could hardly ask for a better family for his daughter. Raising a child really takes a village. And sometimes that village is a group of gang member singing lullabies in a bar.

* * *

“Oh my god!” Betty exclaims with a giggle as a video of the Serpents singing to her daughter plays on her phone. Underneath a message from Toni says: _"_ _The Serpent Princess already has them wrapped around her tiny finger.”_

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> If you got this far, I hope you liked the story. Please let me know in the comments 😊

**Author's Note:**

> I hope you enjoyed this little fic and stay tuned for more. In the meantime you can find me on tumblr [@i-know-you-can](https://i-know-you-can.tumblr.com/)  
> If you're looking for more fluffiness you can also check out my fic [Domesticity](https://archiveofourown.org/works/12676428) which is also a collection of short one shots but unlike this one, they're all set in the same universe.


End file.
